12-17-2019, 12:58 PM
I have been using a cordless drill for my auger for 10 years at least. I made my own adapter for my Mora 8 inch auger way back then and I still use it.
Started with a 12 volt Black and Decker with limited success - it was at least 10 years old at the time and I burned it out. Since then I have used several other drills.
I currently have a Dewalt and 4 different Ryobi drills. Dewalt makes a fine drill and I have used it for many years - but I am using now the Ryobi drills (mainly because I have numerous Ryobi 18v tools and a lot of batteries.)
The Ryobi they tested is one of the tools I have. It has drilled many holes in the ice without any issue. The test they ran used about the worst and whimpiest battery that Ryobi makes. Maybe I missed it during my perusal of that article, but it seemed that they also did not mention brushless drills which I can say for sure that it makes a fair amount of difference in tool torque and performance and in battery performance and overall tool life and longevity.
The drill I use now is a brushless Ryobi Hammer Drill with a far more powerful and robust 4ah battery (Ryobi sells up to 9ah batteries)- I can slice through 20 holes in 6 inch ice as fast as my buddies gas auger and it weighs less than a third of his noisy beast. I really like the light weight in my sled. Granted I am limited by the length of my Mora 8 inch hand auger shaft but I don't live in Minnisota.
Which ever Drill you choose, get one with a 1/2 inch chuck, one capable of at least greater than 500 lbs of torque (the more the better to make you life easier) and the highest amp hour battery you can get for it or carry a spare.
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Started with a 12 volt Black and Decker with limited success - it was at least 10 years old at the time and I burned it out. Since then I have used several other drills.
I currently have a Dewalt and 4 different Ryobi drills. Dewalt makes a fine drill and I have used it for many years - but I am using now the Ryobi drills (mainly because I have numerous Ryobi 18v tools and a lot of batteries.)
The Ryobi they tested is one of the tools I have. It has drilled many holes in the ice without any issue. The test they ran used about the worst and whimpiest battery that Ryobi makes. Maybe I missed it during my perusal of that article, but it seemed that they also did not mention brushless drills which I can say for sure that it makes a fair amount of difference in tool torque and performance and in battery performance and overall tool life and longevity.
The drill I use now is a brushless Ryobi Hammer Drill with a far more powerful and robust 4ah battery (Ryobi sells up to 9ah batteries)- I can slice through 20 holes in 6 inch ice as fast as my buddies gas auger and it weighs less than a third of his noisy beast. I really like the light weight in my sled. Granted I am limited by the length of my Mora 8 inch hand auger shaft but I don't live in Minnisota.
Which ever Drill you choose, get one with a 1/2 inch chuck, one capable of at least greater than 500 lbs of torque (the more the better to make you life easier) and the highest amp hour battery you can get for it or carry a spare.
[signature]